‘We all lost it’: Kids heartbroken after crash kills Aiken teacher

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A four-car crash took the life of a North Aiken Elementary School teacher on Jan. 8.

Sabrina Molina, 43, leaves behind four kids. It happened at Gordon Highway at Jimmie Dyess Parkway, and we spoke with a student about the loss of her favorite teacher.

According to authorities, Freddie Smith, 44, was arrested on Thursday and charged with felony homicide by vehicle, serious injury by vehicle and reckless driving.

There’s always that one teacher we remember who made a difference in our lives. For fifth-grader Jorden Harrington, it was her math teacher Molina. Without her, she says North Aiken Elementary will never be the same.

“I had gotten off the bus, and when something bad happens, I get this really sick feeling in my stomach,” she said.

When Harrington got to class Monday, her teacher wasn’t there.

“We were doing our morning work when a teacher came in and told us that Ms. Molina was probably gonna be a little bit late, which is not really Ms. Molina,” she said.

Molina never did come through the door. Instead, the principal and guidance counselors took her place to tell them she was in a car crash and didn’t make it.

“After they said the word car accident and that she had passed, we all lost it,” said Harrington.

Harrington is finding little reminders of her favorite teacher everywhere.

“She was like a second mom to me and losing somebody that I’m close with has a big impact, and I don’t know how to deal with it,” she said.

Talking about her helps, as well as seeing family and friends come together with a GoFundMe account for her family.

“Ms. Molina actually understood us, and she actually did her job. How she wasn’t supposed to rush us, she helped others, and she respected us even though we were annoying at times,” said Harrington.

Even though Molina leaves behind kids of her own, hundreds of others whose lives she touched feel they’ve also lost a family member.

“It’s taken a while because I’ve never really trusted a teacher. I just don’t trust teachers as much as trusted Ms. Molina,” she said.

Harrington tells us she now lives life with a different perspective: one that honors her teacher, the country she served, and a passion to be a teacher just like Molina when she grows up.

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